Bride Prize

Fourteen: A bicycle chase, bride's rescue

Tersoo climbed out of the river water and put down his bicycle, rubbing his sore right shoulder. He looked back and saw the man who had been watching him with admiration as he swam across the river. The man waved. Smiling wryly and wondering who the man was, he waved back and quickly walked out of sight.

He could not find any foot path which meant that he could no longer ride his bicycle. He debated on what to do with it. To continue to push the bike in the hope of finding a path in the thicket would further slow him down.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t swam across the river to look for a foot path, so he decided that the best thing to do was to find a safe hiding place for it. When all this was over, he would come back and retrieve his bicycle.

Having taken that decision, Tersoo found a thicket under a tall tree which he marked for easy identification and thrust the bicycle inside and pushed the foliage to further conceal it. Then he began a hurried walk up the sloppy ground, keeping parallel to the road about a hundred yards to his right. 

The only thought on his mind was to get back his bride. Nothing mattered. Not the undergrowth entangling his feet, not the harsh bush brushing against his face, not the spikes that cut into the skin on his bare arms.   He walked at a steady pace, breathing evenly, so as to conserve his energy.

*    *   *

Venda, who had been cooped up in his room all afternoon expectantly, became restless when dusk came and most of the people had returned from the market. Still, there was not a sign of his bride, not even Bem and his team and he wondered what on earth could have happened to them. Did they have an accident in the course of speeding? Or had they encountered some unforeseen difficulties?

Each time he heard footsteps close by his hut he jumped up to take a peek thru his slightly opened door. Each time he was disappointed. But he also knew at the back of his mind that his team wouldn’t enter the compound too quietly. As the hours went by, he began to lose his patience.

Reluctantly, he walked outside. He decided to go along the road and probe the situation on first hand. On second thoughts, he considered that a bicycle ride would provide a faster solution to his predicament.

Another problem loomed immediately. He did not own a bicycle, which meant that he would have to borrow from one of his cousins across the compound.

Problem number three, he had not spoken to his cousin in a long while, and wondered if the man would be willing to part with his bicycle.

Problem number four, he was not even certain, that Ikya, that was his cousin’s name, was back from the market.

Damn! Venda felt hot, like hell. 

As he approached Ikya’s hut, he met his wife heading toward her kitchen. She stopped when she saw him. He was also forced to stop.

“Venda, did you go to the market today?” she asked, searching his worried face.

 Venda tried to put on a bored face.

 “Yes, but I came back early. Has your husband returned from the market yet?”

 “Yes, he only just got back,” she said. “He bought some pock meat for me to cook for him.” She indicated the dish in her hand. “I hope you will join us for dinner tonight?”

Venda moved impatiently.

 “Maybe,” he said, but seeing the disappointment in her eyes, went on hurriedly, “Yes, yes, of course I will.”

She moved closer, looking at him with seductive eyes.   “That’s a lie,” she said. “You don’t mean what you say.”

Venda began to protest, but she moved so close that her ample breasts brushed his left arm. He stepped back, fighting to conceal his irritation. The woman had often made advances at him which so far he had resisted. She was the reason he was not in good terms with his cousin, on the suspicion that Venda was chasing his wife..